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EADA Training Camp Update

Following comments made on the web site expressing a wish from our membership for a UK-based Training Camp I was asked by the EADA Council to undertake a feasibility study to better understand the size and complexity of the project and to see if it is a viable proposition.

The provision of a training camp is a massive organisational and logistical exercise of which we have little or no experience other than as consumers of the product. This would be a commercial enterprise between EADA and various 3rd Parties who would be providing any number of goods and services that collectively make up the Training Camp. The first step was to consider the criteria we need to meet if we are to provide a successful training camp that met our requirements.

The criteria applied for the purpose of this feasibility study were as follows:

  • The camp must be accessible to all members regardless of age, gender or ability.
  • Ideally the Training Camp would help to foster a greater feeling of team spirit and congeniality among members.
  • The event and the people involved in providing services for the training camp must meet all relevant Health and Safety regulations. In addition the event must be compliant with EADA’s Child Protection policy.
  • All person(s) coming into contact with the children attending the Training Camp should be CRB checked and aware of EADA’s Child Protection Policy.
  • Ideally the event should be located on a single site to avoid any transportation issues.
  • The location hosting the event must have a proven track record in staging similar events for mixed age groups, in particular the ability to cater for children between the ages of 10-16.
  • All tutors / lecturers must hold recognisable industry accepted qualifications to teach their subject.
  • The event must be self financing and present zero financial liability to EADA.

From talking to various people it soon became apparent that the Training Camp should provide more than just dance lectures and workshops. The broader remit for the Camp could include such things as:

  • Physical Fitness – aerobic fitness and stretching activities such as Yoga or Pilates.
  • Diet & nutrition.
  • Beauty & Grooming
  • Supervised non-dancing activities for the U/16’s, where people can do other things not specifically related to dancing to let off steam.
  • Approach and mental preparation for competition.
  • Provision of private lesson with the coaches on the Camp.
  • Dance Practice in the evenings.

The above isn’t by any means an exhaustive list and if you have any ideas that you wish to be considered then I would be glad to hear them. However, please bear in mind that time is limited and the Training Camp is not anticipated to run for more than 4-5 days.
When we applied the above criteria and the subsequent list of desirable attributes we were left with 2 locations that could potentially meet the majority, if not all of our requirements: Warwick University and Butlin’s Holiday Camps.

As far s being able to physically host the Training Camp both were able to meet the necessary criteria. So what are the factors precluding us from going ahead?

The main problems lay in that Butlin’s are unable to offer any dates during the school holidays which automatically precludes all of our members that are still in full time education from attending. (Sorry kids no extra time off school for this one!)

Warwick University could offer us 4 days from 29th August to 1st September inclusive but apart from the fact that the accommodation costs were the quite prohibitive, we were unable to get the professionals who had expressed a wish to be involved to fit these dates into their diaries due to other commitments.

Consequently, given the lead times in getting all the resources booked and ready for an event of this magnitude I don’t feel that we can successfully stage a training camp for 2006. However, this does not stop us from looking ahead and starting the planning for 2007 now.

The experience gained in conducting this exercise has shown that locations that would be deemed suitable for purposes tend to get booked some 9-12 months ahead, likewise most dance pros are working to similar timescales. The impression I get from the people I’ve talked to is that even established camps are planning their future events some 9-10 months ahead. However, before we get too carried away with setting up a training camp for 2007, I need to be sure that there will be sufficient demand for it.

The feasibility study has shown that we need a minimum of 100 attendees to make the exercise worthwhile, any less than that will increase the unit cost to a point that will make the exercise too prohibitive for our members.

Next steps:
As I’ve previously stated this will be a commercial enterprise between EADA and all the 3rd Parties providing goods and services that constitute the Training Camp. The event has to be run on a sound commercial basis from inception to closure. Before I can undertake the detailed planning stage I need to gauge what the potential demand for the Camp will be and to that effect I would ask everyone who is interested in attending to mail me at:
parent@eada.org.uk by 1st May 2006.

Naturally a major factor will be cost, as an indication only, the estimates derived from the feasibility study ranged from £320 to £450 per person, but these were high level estimates that hadn’t been refined and contained a high degree of contingency.

Further to the comments I’ve seen on the Forum relating to this I offer my apologies to our members for the delay in publishing this update. I would also like to offer my thanks to Elaine Davis, Anne Jackson, Martyn King and Tracey Tyak-King for their contributions to this feasibility study.

Submitted by Manuel Silva
EADA Parent Representative 18/02/2006